Unless you are at a school that has quirky athletic admissions (Haverford, MIT, Chicago come to mind) honestly if you shoot for adequate you should be fine. This is the one time where a perfectly forgettable essay Is ok. Just don’t stand out on the bottom.
Having said that the penalty for not good enough is pretty severe. So I would treat it like you need to write an outstanding essay.
My S isn’t a good writer, so he had his favorite English teacher help him through a few drafts. It still wasn’t great, but that got him to adequate.